Lord Vile
Lord Vile was one of Mevolent's three generals during the War and out of the three was the most powerful and widely feared. Nobody knows who is and where he came from but at some point he started training to become a necromancer and within a few months he was immensely powerful so much so that the necromancers believed him to be the Death Bringer, a necromancer powerful enough to initiate a ritual that could save the world. However Lord Vile had no interest in saving the world, he only wanted to kill and destroy and so after 2 years he left to join Mevolent where he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of his three generals. For 5 years he slaughtered millions on the battlefield and become almost a legendary figure, so much so that it was difficult to tell separate the fact from the fiction. Then, for seemingly no reason, he disappeared as suddenly as he appeared. Battle vs. Kars (by Wassboss) Prologue: The Man in the Wall Italy, 1939 Deep underground and far away from the prying eyes or mortals, a trio of mages stand guard over a stone pillar in silence. Encased inside the pillar is a tall muscular man, surrounded by ominous stone masks. Around about midnight the silence is broken by the sound of loud footsteps as somebody descends the stone steps to the pillar. The guards are immediately poised to attack the intruder but stand down almost instantly when they learn the identity of the footsteps. Dressed in a black suit and with a glove covering his right hand, Nefarian Serpine steps into the light blazing from the torches which light up the cavern. "Any progress," he asks. "Nothing yet General," the nearest guard replies "We've had the scientists down here again today observing it but they're baffled." "Baffled?! These are supposed to be the greatest minds in magical science and you're telling me they're baffled by a man in bloody wall," The guard grimaces but Serpine barely notices as his eye is drawn to a large red gem in the grasp of the pillar man. "and why the hell does he have a gemstone in his hand?" The guard cranes his neck to look. "I have no idea General." "Well then you'd better go and get it off him shouldn't you." The guard hesitates. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea General. The scientists say that whatever that thing is in there is still alive." "Oh you don't think that's a good idea do you now? Listen here you simpleton I asked you to get the stone and when I ask you to get the stone I expect you to go and get the bloody stone. In fact I'm not asking I'm commanding you to get that stone. Or would you rather a firm handshake." Serpine starts to take his glove off and the threat is not lost on the guard who hastily walks over to the wall. Laying his gun down on the floor he reaches out tentatively towards the gem; slowly and carefully plucking it out of the man's grip. He breathes a sigh of relief and goes to pick his gun back up when the man's hand shoots out of the wall suddenly. Tightening around the guard's arm, it's fingers dig into the man's flesh as he struggles, draining him of his energy and leaving him a husk of skin and bones. The rest of the man's body breaks out of the wall and drops into the Thinker pose. The other two guards stand frozen in shock but quickly snap out of it and open fire on the man. His head snaps up just before the bullets hit him and within a few seconds he has crossed the distance between him and the guard. He jams his fingers into the nearest guard's eyes and grips him like a bowling ball. He then throws him into the other guard and as the two go down in a heap he is quickly upon then, absorbing their nutrients. Satisfied the threat is dealt with his eyes fall upon Serpine, who has been watching the events disinterestedly. "Had a nice sleep have we?" he asks sarcastically. The man looks at him curiously. "You don't seem to be too concerned with the deaths of your men." "Why should I be? They're just some common sorcerers, barely better than those stinking mortals." "What I meant is that you do not seemed concerned that the same fate will soon be bestowed upon you" the man continues. Serpine laughs. "Yeah right. No chance of that." "We'll see about that." The man starts towards Serpine but the sorcerer immediately removes his glove and points his red skinless hand at him. However instead of writhing about on the floor in pain the man is unaffected by the magic. "Impossible, no man can survive my right red hand of death!" Serpine hisses. The man smirks. "I am far beyond to any of you pathetic humans. I am Kars and once I conquer the sun you will all bask in my terrible glory." Serpine feels a bead of sweat descending his forehead and he licks his lips nervously. He is relieved to hear the sound of footsteps as more guards come down from the cavern entrance, investigating the sound of gunfire. Serpine backs away from Kars slowly. "Guards! The subject has escaped from his confinement. He must be eliminated at once," he barks as they reach the foot of the stairs "I will go inform Mevolent of these developments." He quickly rushes up the steps leaving the guard to face Kars alone. They line up at the foot of the entrance and raise their guns as one, opening fire on the man who stands before them. Kars doesn't even attempt to avoid the barrage of bullets and they are absorbed into his body until the guards run out of ammo. Kars raises his hands and fires the bullets back at the surprised men, killing most of them before unsheathing his light mode blades and dashing towards the few remaining guards. He slices the first guard before he can even react, bisecting him across the waist. Another guard draws his sword and thrusts it right at Kars but doing no damage, a mistake which Kars punishes by ramming the tip of his blade through the man's head. The final remaining guard forgoes using conventional weaponry and instead gathers a ball of energy into his hands. He jams his hand right into Kars' midsection and the energy flickers violently as it breaks through the skin. Yelling in satisfaction his victory is short lived as he finds he cannot remove his hand from within Kars. "Hmm, interesting. This reminds me of the Hamon tribe we destroyed millennia ago although this magic is not nearly as potent." He clasps the man's head and pulls it back to reveal his neck, which is promptly draws his blade across. The blood splurts out and splatters on his chest as he absorbs the man's nutrients and Kars looks longingly at the other dead bodies littered about the cavern. "The best thing to do after a long slumber is have a hearty feast" he mummers and the dried out corpse of the man drops to the floor. "But it would only be a distraction, time I could be spending looking for the Red Stone of Aja." He leaves the blood-soaked cavern behind and walks out into the chilly Italian night to continue his search. ---- Vienna, The Next Day '' Serpine bursts through the door of Mevolent's chamber. The head of the Church of Faceless Ones watches intently as the General bows deepy. "I take it there has been some development with the stone man we found in Rome?" he asks. "You are correct my lord. He has awoken from his slumber. And let me tell you he was not happy to see us there. He attacked the guards almost as soon as he had freed himself from the pillar" "And why didn't you deal with him?" Mevolent asks. "My Lord, this man is far more powerful than we could've expected. He slaughtered the guards with ease even when they used their magic on him. I tried to use my Right Red Hand on him but he was immune to it's effects." "So you decided to flee then did you? Doesn't seem very befitting of a general" If anybody else had said such a thing to Nefarian Serpine then they would shortly be in for a world of pain, but under the gaze of his master Serpine can do nothing but blush. "I had to my lord. I saw the way he tore those guards to shreds and I knew my other magic would be unable to stop him. I had to report back to you and warn you of the grave threat that this man possesses." Mevolent looks at his general thoughtfully. "He must be dangerous then if even someone who wields as much power as you was unable to stop him. Something must be done about this man as quickly as possible." A swirl of shadows begins to form next to Serpine and from the darkness steps a figure, cloaked from head to toe in armour. Lord Vile kneels before Mevolent's throne awaiting his orders. "I want you to find this stone man Vile," Mevolent says "I want you to watch him, learn about his behaviour, see if he can be recruited to our cause." He pauses building up the tension. "And if he refuses then you are to eliminate him." Mevolent waves his hand to dismiss him and Lord Vile disappears back into the shadows, to complete his masters orders. Battle: A Vile Encounter ''12:00, Rome, A few days later During the day the Colosseum is bustling with tourists from all over the globe who are eager to get a glimpse of a bygone era. At midnight though there is not a soul in sight and Kars is free to roam about without being bothered by anybody. He visited this place once back before he slept in his stone pillar and had found himself amused by the savagery of the crowd as they brayed for blood. While he despises humans for their weakness he can at least appreciate the majesty of this place. Something catches his eye, a corner of the Colosseum which seems unnaturally dark, even in the near pitch blackness of the moonless night. He senses danger from this corner and instinctively settles into a defensive stance. Out from the darkness steps a man, in a medieval suit of armour, who watches the Pillar Man from below his visor. "You've been following me haven't you?" Kars asks, "You're like those men I killed when I awoke. Yet you're different. I can practically feel the anger and hatred coming from you. Is that why you have come here? To get revenge for your brethren?" Lord Vile stares back at him blankly but the shadows around him lash at his armour. "It doesn't matter why you came here primitive, you will not leave." Without warning Kars leaps forward and unsheathes his bone blade, swinging for the neck but a wave of shadows burst forward from Vile's chest and knocks him back. Falling into a three point land his body shifts to avoid a shadow shard from piercing his chest and another from burying itself into his shoulder. He swipes at the shadows with his blade but they dissipate just as a swarm of needles spring forth from the darkness. He half jump, half twists out of the way but some of the needles still manage to strike him, digging into his skin and causing discomfort. Frowning Kars lunges for Vile again, twisting and turning to avoid the barrage of shadows being thrown at him. He swings his blade at Vile but a wall of shadows blocks the attack and a tendril yanks at his foot, tripping him. A shard stabs deep into his skin but the rubbery texture means it simply bends around it. Kars uses this mistake to swing his leg at Vile, a blade springing out from his ankle and aiming right at his neck. Just as it is about to sneak through the gap between the helmet and the chest plate the armour reforms to create a thick layer of shadow which catches the blade. "I see. This armour your wearing isn't mere material, it's fuelled by your energy so it can change to suit your needs." He twists his upper body 180 degrees and grabs onto the plates which comprise the chest piece. "But maybe I can still pull it off you." He starts to pull the plates in opposite directions, ignoring the flailing shadows that claw at his body. Straining every muscle in his arms he is about to give up when he feels the plates slowly start to come apart revealing a gap. Grunting in satisfaction he pulls the armour open further, revealing a skeletal suit and tie beneath. Slowly he begins systematically breaking the bones in his body and starts to force his hands through into the armour, using his elbows to keep the gap open. He gets up to his elbow when he feels his grip begin to give way and he looks on in horror as the armour slices completely through his arms. A large shadowy fist punches him away and he slams into one of the Colosseum inner walls and felling it. He gets up groggily and shouts in anger as he realises his arms are missing. Lord Vile's armour has now reformed completely and within a few seconds his arms are spit out in a wave of shadows. "You'll regret this primitive" he screams in anger and his arms slowly crawl back to him, reattaching themselves. He checks the blades to see they still work and shoots a venomous glare at Vile. He tries to take a step forward to continue the fight but his leg feels incredibly heavy as if something is weighing it down. He looks down and sees shadows sticking to his leg like glue and more in oozing from the floor to trap his other leg. He slashes at the shadows with his blade but with every one he destroys another takes his place. The shadows start crawling up his body and he tears at them but they are growing thicker and thicker and he can feel them starting to burrow into his skin. At first they struggle to get through but soon the sheer number of them being to pierce and work there way into him, tightening around his bones to hold him in place. Struggling in vain Kars sees a large black aura starting to emanate from his opponent and as it washes over him he can feel his life force being sucked out of him. He desperately tries to break up his body to remove the shadows but they turn jagged and dig into every inch of him they can. His death is slow an agonising as the death bubble drains him, leaving behind nothing but a hollow corpse. Lord Vile retracts the bubble and the shadows lap around his feet as his descends into the ground. Winner Lord Vile Expert's Opinion Kars was a formidable opponent but ultimately was limited to using his Bone Blade as his main form of attack which required him to get up close and personal. Lord Vile's Necromancy allowed him to control the distance and it's variety gave him a whole host of ways to harm Kars and whenever Kars did get close enough to use Light Mode his armour protected him. To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here. Battle vs. Lancelot (Fate) (by Wassboss) TBW Expert's Opinion TBW Category:Warriors Category:Magic Warriors Category:Book Warriors Category:Fantasy Warriors Category:Irish Warriors Category:European Warriors Category:Evil Warriors Category:Undead Warriors Category:Fictional Warriors Category:Modern Warriors Category:Super-Human Warriors Category:Criminal Warriors Category:Skulduggery Pleasant Warriors